beyond the back page Now Team USA’s embarrassing WBC blunders don’t have to be the whole story By Bridget Reilly Published March 12, 2026, 7:52 a.m. ET Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a home run against Italy in a World Baseball Classic game on March 10, 2026. AP Where were the grownups for Team USA?
Whoever was looking over the World Baseball Classic scenarios along with USA manager Mark DeRosa is lucky they’re getting a mulligan.
Heading into Team USA’s game against Italy, DeRosa believed the heavily favored Americans had already punched their ticket to the quarterfinals.
“Ton of respect for Italy. It’s weird, we want to win this game even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals because Mexico plays Italy actually [Wednesday],” DeRosa said Tuesday morning on MLB Network. “So, the way the schedule lines up, this is an important game for us.”
